Only If For A Night
by Vera Hemmingway
Summary: Caroline is an abandoned survivor who is exhausted, dehydrated, and about to die. A man saves her, takes her to a town called "Woodbury", and gives her a reason to live... But she wonders who "the Governor" really is? -POSSIBLE CHARACTER DEATH- -RATED T FOR LANGUAGE, SEXUAL NATURE, AND OBVIOUSLY VIOLENCE-
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: This is my first story... Hope you like it!

Chapter 1

I was ready to die, and had said goodbyes long ago to the people I love; my family, friends, co-workers.

I'd run out of ammo, my axe had been lost long ago when our camp was overrun, I was out of options and I was exhausted.

I was ready to die, and I lay on the cool, dry, forest floor and admired Georgia's natural beauty one last time.

I could hear moans and hisses in the distance, and I knew I would soon be a part of the dead as the sounds drew closer.

Footsteps were abundant and I'd lost track of how many were surrounding me. I was afraid, I knew how painful it would be , and it would be slow, I'd seen it happen many times before. Walkers moved in closer; their smell and sounds grew stronger. I closed my eyes and drew in a breath. "Goodnight. Goodnight, world," I said as they moved in, my arm was grabbed by one and I trembled, but a gunshot sounded and I was released. More shots fired and the space around me cleared like a clear cut forest. "…Huh…" I tried to make out a sound to signal for help, "Gov. I think this one's alive!" I heard, "Let me take a look," I heard from another voice. I was surrounded again, and I was not sure with which crowd I was better off with. Walkers would rip me apart, yes, but the living, I have seen do similar and worse things.

"Let's leave her," one said, "That's a waste, I'll have her," another chuckled. "Everyone start makin' their way back to town, I'll stay with the girl." I heard, and several of the survivors left. I felt a cold shiver run through my veins, I was helpless and weak as the man crouched before me would decide my fate. As I felt a hand slide under my back I twitched, and he told me "don't be afraid, you're going to live."

His arms enveloped me, and I exhaled deeply as I felt warmth again. I tried to open my eyes but all I saw was the sun surrounding a showed silhouette. I accepted the fact that I wasn't going anywhere, and I leaned my head into him, his body like a warm blanket.

"I'm taking you to the infirmary, they'll fix you up. For now, just rest."

I wasn't sure if I believed him, but I listened and kept my eyes clothes. I was terrified of weather I was going to live or die, but I embraced what could've been the last time I would be held.

I woke up in a white-walled room, I looked down at my body for blood or wounds, none. My eyes couldn't open to their full extent, and as I searched the room for a nurse or a doctor I was unsuccessful. "Mmmh, is anyone..h-here…?" I mumbled uselessly, "H..he…hello..hello!" I croaked louder. For a moment I felt abandoned, the hospital may have been overrun, and I could have just attracted the wrong crowd. I felt a shock of alertness when the door creaked open, I sat up quickly. There was almost nothing to protect myself with and I was frozen. Footsteps sounded; and a living, breathing man walked in. "Sorry I left you, another person needed me for uh… How're you feeling? The nurse said you were near death with dehydration," he said. "What… Who are you? Where am I?" I asked as I looked over at him. I recognised him. He was the one who saved me. He was handsome, tall, late thirties I supposed, I remembered his voice and how he held me.

"They call me the Governor, and you're in a town. Woodbury. I explained this to you already… But you were asleep for two days so I suppose you don't remember it."  
_"Are there others?"_  
"Yes. There are 283—84, people living here.  
"_That's a lot of people for one camp—"_  
"Caroline, this isn't a camp. It's a town. We have homes, buildings, military, etcetera."

I didn't ask how he knew my name, I was having a hard enough time retaining the information gathered at the time. A town, though, is a lot to take in.

He cleared his throat, "Listen, I'm not going to go into details, I'll just give you the gist of it, you're welcome in our town, but we're not forcing you to stay… You got a group or something looking for you?"  
"…No…No I don't. Our camp, it got overrun. There were hundreds. I kept running and I don't know if anyone survived or not. I don't think they did, though," I explained. I realised what a selfish act I'd committed. I left everyone to die and I never looked back for anyone.

His eyes met mine, "Look. In this… this world, we all do things we're not proud of, every single one of us has secrets. You're not alone." Something in his tone made me believe him.  
I nodded, and lay my head back into the pillow. My face felt hot and my throat constricted as a tear trickled down my face.  
He sat on the edge of my bed, "Hey," he whispered, resting his hand on mine, "You did what you had to do to stay alive, and there ain't nothing wrong with that."  
His hand rose to my face, he rubbed my cheek with his thumb, and wiped away the tear that rested on my jaw bone.

He looked at the ground, stood up, and said "I have to go now."

"Okay," I replied.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up in the infirmary, and felt extremely tired even after sleeping for two days, though I'd been running for weeks. "H..Hello?" I nervously called out, if I was alone then I could be surrounded as well, I crept out of the blankets. My clothes were clean and folded, sitting on the chair next to me. "Is anyone..is anyone here?" Nothing. I took off the hospital gown and placed it on the bed, I looked down at my naked body, covered by scars, bruises, and bones that stuck out more than I'd like. I used to be beautiful; soft body, curves, flushed cheeks... I put on my bra, my shirt that still held red stains that might have never come out, underwear and jeans- all of which were worn out and full of tears.

A knock on the door made me jump, and a nurse walked in. She was old, fat, and looked like a grandma of someone. She pushed up her glasses, too big for her face, "He wants to see you." and walked out. "What? Wait! Who?!"

I sighed deeply and started to walk out but ran into the man whose face I could never forget. "Caroline, how are ya?" the Governor smiled and looked down at me, "Governor. Hi. Um, I'm... okay. I have some questio-" "Hold on now, before you start askin' away, let's go outside." He held his arm out and I felt nervous, and feeling nervous made me, well, nervous. But I held onto him.

We walked out of the building and into the streets, it was sunny and the air smelled like a bakery; sweet, warm, and welcoming. "This is Woodbury, yours to enjoy, ours to protect." he said proudly. "What, is that your motto?" I chuckled, "Well as soon as we get a flag or coat of arms, that'll be on it." he replied.

"_You can't be serious."_

"This is a new civilization. I'm gonna treat it like one."

"_How do you know it's safe?"_

"Its safe. We gotta curfew in place, 24 hour watch, and walls surrounding every corner. Caroline, it's safe," he stood in front of me, his hands on my arms. "We're safe," he whispered. I wasn't sure if I was scared or infatuated of him, but he felt so secure.

"Come up to my office."

_"I don't think thats a good idea, aren't you busy?"_

_"_I have liquor."

I couldn't deny myself a drink, it'd been a hell of a long time and I think I deserved it. "Let's go," I laughed.

The Governor's office was spotless, organized, and reminded me of some luxurious cabin-style room of a CEO or a millionaire. "Sit down," he said with a stern face, I raised an eyebrow but he just laughed. He poured two well-crafted glasses with rich, smooth, scotch, "I don't have any ice, it's kind of a luxury that even I can't have everyday," he said handing me the glass. I sipped the drink and it warmed my mouth, and made my throat tingle.

He sat down in a leather chair, and looked me straight in the eye, "I hope you can forgive us for being a little mysterious, but we didn't know you an' you coulda been dangerous. But I-" the door opened and one of the watchmen came in.

He was muscular and was carrying a rifle, out of breath he managed to say "Gov., we need you for a bit. Nothin' serious but-"

"Cant you see I'm busy?" the Governor hissed, glaring at him. The watchman looked at me with annoyance, "I can wait...I mean, he said it wasn't important.." I mumbled. The Governor exhaled deeply, stared at the watchman for a long while, "Alright, let's go," he smiled, "You'll wait here?" he asked.

"Of course." I nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

I sat drinking for about ten minutes, but living in this world full of constant running and killing, you grow restless. I got up and looked around, being careful of him coming back anytime soon.

I looked around his desk, mostly papers, agendas, files of civilians... I searched for myself. It was organized alphabetically of course, flipping to 'M' for my name I found my papers.

**CAROLINE MACCOVERN**

BIRTHDATE: MAY 8, 1990

BIRTHPLACE: ATLANTA, GEORGIA

HEIGHT: 5"6

WEIGHT: 123 POUNDS

ETHNICITY: CAUCASIAN

Everything was pretty normal, my picture was there, it was me asleep on the hospital bed. "_Fucking creeps."_ I thought, they photographed me while I was practically passed out.

MARITAL STATUS: NOT MARRIED

CHILDREN: N/A

_"What the fuck, how do they know this shit?"_ I asked myself, what did it matter anyways? Did they plan to fix me up? Have a wedding?

SAFETY: POSSIBLE DANGEROUS. KEEP WATCH.

_"__Possible dangerous? Keep watch!? What the fucking fuck is going on this town?" _I couldn't even figure out how or why I was considered dangerous, as I was found half dead surrounded by walkers. Was a being watched at that moment? Was that why the Governor had gotten me drunk?

I heard footsteps. "Shit!" I hissed, scrambling through the files, trying to put them back in order.

_"Okay Merle, you got an hour more on your shift then Graham can take over!" _I heard from the stairwell.

"Shit shit shit shit..." I kept trying to close the file drawer but something was jamming it. It clicked and finally closed shut. As the door open I stumbled into his leather chair.

"You're here a day and you think you can take my job already?" he chuckled, he knew what I was doing, I thought. "Hahah, you got me! It's a really comfortable chair, and a damn nice desk. What is this, mahogany?" I asked nervously. His eyes stayed on me as he walked closer and closer.

"Good eye," he whispered, "One of my men found it searching through some abandoned houses."

He stroked my hair as he sat on the edge of the desk, "I'm glad you're here, Caroline." I put my hands on his knees and smiled as I looked up at him. "I'm glad to be here, Gov."

His hands moved down and played with my shirt, feeling through it's hole on my shoulder. "How old are you, Caroline?" he asked in a deep voice, he knew the answer. "Old enough," I insinuated. He bit his lip and moved his hands down my body to my waist. Something felt odd about this, but thats what I liked about it, it wasn't right, not one bit. I felt hot all over, he placed his hand on my thigh and the door knocked again.

"What is it, _now?"_ he whined, I moved out the chair to the window. "I- I'm sorry Guv. But.. we got anuther survivor... And they're hurt real bad," said a young man's voice. "Dammit," the Governor muttered, clenching his teeth.

"Let me walk Caroline to her room, 'nd I'll be there in twenty," he grunted. "Uh, okay!" said the boy running down stairs.

_Shit_, I thought.

We walked down the streets as the sun started setting, he cleared his throat, "Normally people share a room, but luckily a room just cleared up so you have it to yourself."

_A room cleared up...?_

_"Th_anks. I really appreciate all you've done for me," I smiled, "But um.. I was wondering... where's my gun?" I looked at him. The smile escaped mine and his face.

"Caroline... You... You can't expect us to let people runnin' around everywhere with a gun in their jeans, can you? It's dangerous. Trust me, it's sa-"

_"It's safe here. I get it. I'm sorry I'd just feel a lot _safer_ with it."_

He sighed, clenching his jaw.

"Here's your building. You're on the third floor, second room on the left. 3B," he said.

No keys, no privacy.

He held my face in his hands, "You're here now, and you're okay," he mumbled. He kissed my forehead and turned away, to the infirmary I suppose.

_I gotta get into his office again_, I thought,_ I need to know more._


	4. Chapter 4

I entered my room and felt a rush of exhaustion, I reached for one of the water bottles and refreshed myself, then I took another and put it in my backpack- just incase it _wasn't_ as safe as the Governor kept saying.

I looked out my window, children running around, laughing, like nothing ever happened. Like no one died. Like everyone's healthy and there's nothing out there that will hurt you. I envied them but I also feared for them.

I didn't know what happened with the Governor in his office, a sort of uncontrollable lust overcame me. A spell, or a frenzy of some kind. I didn't trust the Governor, hell, I didn't trust anyone. But he has a way about him, the type of guardian-figure that you want to protect you forever. I didn't trust him, but he was a trusting man.

Some one walked in my room and it startled me, "The Governor's calling a meeting. Be down in one minute," a woman said, she must have been a mother or something because she looked exhausted as I was. "Well, come on, now!" she gestured towards the door. "Okay. I'm coming."

The Governor was standing on a car, hundreds of people surrounding him, eager to hear what wise and powerful words he would say.

The woman nodded to him and he cleared his throat, "It appears there's been a number of people questioning the safety of this town..."

_'Oh god, this guy never shuts up about safety._' I thought.

"...We have guards surrounding us, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. We've been accident free since December. It's now July."

_'Oh my god, he's a god damn liar! There was an accident this afternoon!'_ I remembered.

I started to back up, no one was behind me, no one was watching me. I slowly started to make my way down the road... towards the Governor's office.

I needed answers, and I had a feeling his speech would provide none.

I ran towards the wall of a building, trying to blend in with the concrete. Still, no one saw.

I tip-toed across the wall, ducking into alleyways when some one turned around.

I could see it, his building, a few metres away.

I sprinted to the door, and looked into the window, empty. As I entered the Governor's house my heart was racing at an unearthly rate. If someone saw me, I'd surely be locked up, or dead.

His foyer was normal-looking, nothing out of the ordinary. Pictures hung-up on the wall, flowers in vases, clean carpets and floors...

I stepped into his office again, _'Where the fuck is my gun..._' I thought, I looked through all the drawers of his desk, nothing. I searched the room, a cabinet stood in the opposite corner.

I didn't expect it to be unlocked but it was and when I opened it...

Dozens and dozens of guns, bullets and ammunition too. Swords, knives, katanas... I only needed my gun.

Sitting on the top shelf was my 9mm, still intact.

I had what I came for, but I couldn't leave.

All his little white lies had to add up to something, and it could have costed me my life, but those mothers and children needed to be safe. I followed a wine coloured carpet into the hall and opened the door adjacent to myself.

Bingo, his bedroom.

His bed had been slept in, and a journal lay on the bedside table.

Marks. A tally of some sort. That's all there was in his journal. Page after page, just endless tallies counting days or months. Or bodies. This man wasn't normal. He wasn't well.

I closed the book and entered his closet, a few shirts and one other pair of pants. A jacket. Boots. No guns. No knives. No weapons. He sure was confident about this place.

I pushed them aside to uncover a door. It wasn't even locked.

"_Mmmmrrrrrppphh..."_

A moan from behind the door, "Is someone in there?" I hissed.

It could've been the survivor that young boy talked about earlier today. "I'm gonna get you out!" I said again.

"_Rrrrrrrraaaaaagghhh!"_

I opened the door and a small body came racing at me.

"SHIT. FUCKING WALKER!" I cried, I fell to the ground, crawling towards the door, then I heard a chain tugging.

'_It's chained up...' _I thought.

I turned around, kicked down the walker, and as I held it down with my foot I grabbed my gun from the small of my back.

It was wearing a bag on it's head, and it was small, just a child, too.

I lifted the bag, it was a little girl.

Normally, I'd just shoot it between the eyes but... her face looked familiar.

"_NNnNRRAAAAGHHH!_" the walker pushed against my boot, knocking me down again, _"FUCK._" I backed into the closet wall, pointed my gun and shot her.

I banged my head against the wall as I realized that everyone must've heard that.

I stood up quickly, tripping and stumbling I ran out of the closet and back into the hallway._ 'Shit, I gotta get out of here. NOW_.' I thought. I reached the foyer again when I saw something, a picture I'd knocked over... And there she was.

The little girl I'd just shot in the head.

It was his daughter. The Governor had a daughter.

_"You missed the meeting_."

Oh fuck. I was dead. I knew it.

I tried to think of an excuse, something to say.. But there was nothing coming out of my mouth. I just sat on his floor, blood on my face, his house ruined.

His eyes widened as he looked into my eyes and saw what I'd done. "No. No. _No. __**PENNY**_!" he ran and I chased after him.

"She was a walker! _She was __**dead**__!" _I cried. But he kept running.

I reached his room and there he lay,

on the floor,

holding his dead daughter in his hands, sobbing.

"She...she was infected... I did what I had t-" "_I COULD HAVE CURED HER. YOU __**MURDERER**__! I COULD HAVE CURED HER. I could have cured her..." _He continued to sob, "What.. you knew she was dead? You kept her in your _CLOSET?!_ She was a WALKER," I yelled. It made sense, all the things he'd done, it was to protect his dead, decaying child.

"Get up against the wall.." he said, sniffling and wiping his face._ "What?_" "I said turn the fuck around. And get against the wall," he had his gun out this time. I put my hands up to the closet doors, out of breath and out of options.

"We could have been something. We could have started a LIFE here. You. Me. And Penny.." I heard him mutter as the click of a gun sounded.

He was going to kill me.

"_Governo-"_

"My name is Phillip, you should know that. Remember that name in hell."

"_Phillip. You don't need to do this... _

_...You can start a new family. We can start a family... _

_...We can do this, together. I.. I love you. It's been a day, I know. _

_...But I love you... Please ... Don't do this... I love you. _

_We can start a new family..."_

I heard him lower his gun. He let out a sigh.

It was right then that I turned around, grab the gun from the front of my jeans and pulled the trigger.

A thud sounded as he fell to the ground, dead.

I killed him.

There he was, on the ground. Blood dripping from his head. Next to Penny.

I killed Phillip.

I killed the Governor.

**AUTHOR NOTE:**

**Thanks for reading! I've wanted to write this ever since I read about what the Governor does in the comic books (he's EVIL!) so yeah... Feedback is welcome!**


	5. Epilogue

**AUTHOR NOTE**

**Someone asked what happened to Caroline after and I guess I started getting curious myself, so here it is! Tell me if you want me to continue it! **

**EPILOGUE**

I wondered how long it would be until they noticed, I had minutes, seconds. I scrambled through the house, not bothering to hide his body. There was no other way out, he HAD to have an emergency exit...

_"Gov.? Everything okay in there?"_

Shit, Martinez. He respected him with his life, he'd kill me within a flash if he saw me.

I ran into his office again, lifting under carpets and closets, nothing. I checked his bedroom again, stepping over his and Penny's body I searched the closet again. I looked up into the hat cupboard, there was a vent, big enough for a body. Oddly enough it was screwed from inside the vent, which made it easy to kick open.

_"Hey! Gov.! We're comin' in!"_

I quickly thrusted my foot on the metal screen, then twice more till it busted open.

The front door creaked and several footsteps marched into the house.

"shit. shit. shit. shit," I grunted, climbing into the vent. I coughed as dust filled my lungs, "Hello?" a voice called, they heard me. I scurried through the vent, using my arms to drag my body across the metal cage.

_"OH MY GOD. HE'S FUCKING DEAD. HE'S FUCKING DEAD, GUYS," _another voice cried out.

I stopped crawling, I was somewhere in the hallway outside his bedroom. I slowly swayed forward, as quiet as I could, I saw a few cracks of sunlight, I was close to the exit. "WHO THE FUCK IS HERE?!" Martinez yelled out, I stopped again.

They started running into his office, I'd reached the end of the vent now, I flipped over and prepared myself to kick out another vent cover.

"...I.. I think someone's in the vent," I heard Merle mutter. 'Fuck,' I thought, 'Now or never.' I threw my foot to the metal sheet as hard as I could, I whimpered as my leg contracted in pain. I heard gunshots through the vent, "CAROLINE! YOU'RE DEAD!" They screamed, shooting dozens and dozens of various guns through the ceiling.

I jumped out of the house not realizing I was higher up than I thought. I landed on a patch of grass behind the Governor's house. My foot was broken, definitely, and I couldn't control my screams. I cried in pain but tried to get up and limp towards the trucks guarding Woodbury.

"YOU'RE DEAD, BITCH!" I heard someone yell behind me as gunshots fired and missed me. I noticed a crawl-space under one of the trucks and quickly got down to my knees and dragged under the vehicle.

"Who the hell are you?" a man standing outside yelled, coming out from the woods. "DROP YOUR WEAPONS OR I'LL SHOOT" he yelled.

"I don't.. i don't have any weapons! Please! Help me! They're trying to kill me!" I cried, limping towards the man.

"I'm just trying to find supplies, I don't have any medical supplies with me... I can't help you." he said, putting his gun in it's holster.

_"PLEASE. Take me to your camp! I'll die out here! They'll find me, they did it before. __**They'll kill me**__! Please!"_

"Okay, okay. Come with me, hurry!" he hissed, grabbing my arm and dragging me into the woods. "What... What's your name?" he asked, running deeper into the woods.

"_Caroline."_

"Oh, uh, I'm Glenn."


End file.
